On the Sunday before labor day we had the Draschils over for some grilling and backyard marshmallow toasting. The plan was for them to sleepover and then we could wake up and do something fun in the morning.
Well by the time we got all the kids in bed (and apparently that includes Joseph since he disappeared after putting the kids down and Mel found him hours later passed out on the bed) it was pretty late and we still hadn't come up with a plan for Labor day. As it got close to midnight we got the crazy idea to make Melinda call the Marriott and ask if we could swim in their pool. I don't know how she did it but that girl worked her magic and got us the green light to swim at the hotel the next day for free.
So that was that. I went to bed in awe of Melinda's power to get anything she wants and with the plan to swim in a nice clean chlorinated pool in the morning.
Well when we woke up we found Taber and Joseph churning away at their computers and I could tell they had other plans in mind. I asked what they were up to and with big excited eyes they started spouting off about water holes and Horseshoe falls, and google maps, and all kinds of stuff that didn't sound like a chlorinated pool. Turns out they had done a Google search and found some grass roots website for swimming holes in New Hampshire. They found one that was just 30 minutes away with a little waterfall and a 15 foot rock for cliff jumping.
Despite their excitement I was skeptical. How on earth were we going to find this unmarked waterhole with no signs, maps, or roads leading into it? The boys, however, felt confident they could get us there. They had scanned the area with google earth satellites and after they found all the landmarks described on the website, Joseph dropped a pin on his little GPS app and we loaded up the troops in search of Horseshoe falls.
It took a little searching but to their great credit, the boys found the swimming hole and I have to say, it did not disappoint.
There was plenty of slow moving shallow water for the kids to play and float around in.
The babies did good too, lounging in the tent and even taking a few dips in the water.
Taber and Joseph were quite pleased with their googling skills.
And I'll admit, it was fun to see them go from being cute dads taking the girls on a floatie safari to jumping off the rock like teenage boys again. It was the best of both worlds.
And don't think Melinda and I just sat back on baby duty the whole time either. You better believe we were jumping off that rock too cuz that's the way these mama's roll. : )
I made a video to document our awesome braveness. Some bragging rights go to yours truly for being the first to jump and also to little Teya for being brave enough to jump off one of the lower rocks. (She wanted to jump off the big one but I don't think her swimming skills are quite to that level. She's a brave little dare devil.)
